19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Randy Alcorn writes in the book, "The Treasure Principle":
By telling us that our hearts follow our treasure, Jesus is saying, “Show me your checkbook, your VISA statement, and your receipts, and I’ll show you where your heart is.”...
As surely as the compass needle follows north, your heart will follow your treasure. Money leads; hearts follow.
In Mark chapter 4, Jesus teaches us about the wise use of what He has entrusted to us:
24 "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
2nd Corinthians 9 addresses the concept of our resources as a tool to reflect the glory of God:
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. Our priorities are reflected in the way that we use what God has given to us. For instance, He has given us time as a tool, and if we squander away the resource of time with idleness or misplaced priorities, then we miss what He has in store for us. And, he has given us financial resources - the Bible teaches us to bring the firstfruits to Him. You may not have much, but it is still a gift of God to be used. If our hearts are turned toward God, then our spending - and giving - will reflect the condition of our hearts. This is evident in the life of someone who has taken the tools the Lord has given to her and used them for His glory. She once was one of the top supermodels, and now, according to a recent Forbes article, Kathy Ireland. Motivated by her desire to help busy moms, driven by her faith in Christ, her company markets some 15,000 products, doing $2 billion in retail sales last year. And, while she is using her resources to provide practical solutions and home-related products, she has also been involved in charitable work. According to the Christian Post, she has been involved...
...in a lot of charitable work, promoting awareness of family issues such as hunger, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, arthritis, and breast cancer. UCLA named Ireland as one of America's top 10 women's health advocates, recognizing her for her involvement in the March of Dimes and frequent public advocacy for timely and adequate prenatal care.
Ireland is also an outspoken Christian and pro-lifer who believes life begins at conception and that her “best friend is my Rock, Anchor, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ."
"All things are possible with God,” she says.
In her most recent book from 2009, she used another tool, the written word, to address family finances, health, the dangers of drug abuses and STDs, stress, menopause, and “most importantly finding wisdom and security in the glory of Christian faith."
So, while Kathy Ireland, who has been a top trending topic on Yahoo! for the last 2 days, has plenty of earthly treasure, the use of her treasure is reflective of her relationship with God. So we can ask ourselves - what do we treasure? Recognizing that our spending priorities reflect what's in our hearts, we have an indicator of how well we are fulfilling His purpose for us.
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